Heat stress affects mammary metabolism by influencing the plasma flow to the glands

Background Environmental heat stress(HS)can have detrimental effects on milk production by compromising the mammary function.Mammary plasma flow(MPF)plays a crucial role in nutrient supply and uptake in the mam-mary gland.In this experiment,we investigated the physiological and metabolic changes in high-yielding cows exposed to different degrees of HS:no HS with thermal-humidity index(THI)below 68(No-HS),mild HS(Mild-HS,68≤THI≤79),and moderate HS(Mod-HS,79<THI≤88)in their natural environment.Our study focused on the changes in blood oxygen supply and mammary glucose uptake and utilization.Results Compared with No-HS,the MPF of dairy cows was greater(P<0.01)under Mild-HS,but was lower(P<0.01)in cows under Mod-HS.Oxygen supply and consumption exhibited similar changes to the MPF under different HS,with no difference in ratio of oxygen consumption to supply(P=0.46).The mammary arterio-vein differences in glucose concentration were lower(P<0.05)under Mild-and Mod-HS than under no HS.Glucose supply and flow were significantly increased(P<0.01)under Mild-HS but significantly decreased(P<0.01)under Mod-HS compared to No-HS.Glucose uptake(P<0.01)and clearance rates(P<0.01)were significantly reduced under Mod-HS compared to those under No-HS and Mild-HS.Under Mild-HS,there was a significant decrease(P<0.01)in the ratio of lac-tose yield to mammary glucose supply compared to that under No-HS and Mod-HS,with no difference(P=0.53)in the ratio of lactose yield to uptaken glucose among different HS situations.Conclusions Degrees of HS exert different influences on mammary metabolism,mainly by altering MPF in dairy cows.The output from this study may help us to develop strategies to mitigate the impact of different degrees of HS on milk production.

Modelling Study on the Plasma Flow and Heat Transfer in a Laminar Arc Plasma Torch Operating at Atmospheric and Reduced Pressure

A modelling study is performed to investigate the characteristics of both plasma flow and heat transfer of a laminar non-transferred arc argon plasma torch operated at atmospheric and reduced pressure. It is found that the calculated flow fields and temperature distributions are quite similar for both cases at a chamber pressure of 1.0 atm and 0.1 atm. A fully developed flow regime could be achieved in the arc constrictor-tube between the cathode and the anode of the plasma torch at 1.0 atm for all the flow rates covered in this study. However the flow field could not reach the fully developed regime at 0.1 atm with a higher flow rate. The arc-root is always attached to the torch anode surface near the upstream end of the anode, i.e. the abruptly expanded part of the torch channel, which is in consistence with experimental observation. The surrounding gas would be entrained from the torch exit into the torch interior due to a comparatively large inner diameter of the anode channel compared to that of the arc constrictor-tube.

Tokamak Plasma Flows Induced by Local RF Forces

The tokamak plasma flows induced by the local radio frequency （RF） forces in the core region are analyzed. The effective components of local RF forces are composed of the momentum absorption term and the resonant parallel momentum transport term （i.e. the parallel component of the resonant ponderomotive forces）. Different momentum balance relations are em- ployed to calculate the plasma flows depending on different assumptions of momentum transport. With the RF fields solved from RF simulation codes, the toroidal and poloidal flows by these forces under the lower hybrid current drive and the mode conversion ion cyclotron resonance heating on EAST-like plasmas are evaluated.

Plasma Flows within the Context of Biasing Experiments

The understanding and reduction of turbulent transport in magneticconfinement devices is not only an academic task, but also the matter of practical interest, sincehigh confinement is chosen as the regime for ITER and possible future reactors it reduces both thesize and the cost. Since the pioneering work on CCT a lot of work has been devoted to the effect ofelectric field biasing carried out on many tokamaks, which in general leads to a strongly varyingradial electric fields as a function of radius and a resulting sheared E x B flow, giving rise toimproved confinement properties. The issue of plasma flows is utterly fundamental for understandingof tokamaks aimed at the achievement of fusion energy. This appears in the well known neoclassicaltheory as the most accomplished and self-consistent basis for understanding of fusion plasmas. Itpertains to the novel concept of 'zonal flows' emerging from the recent development of gyro-kinetictransport codes. The poloidal and toroidal flows are also crucial for the concept of the electricfield shear suppression of plasma turbulence in tokamaks. Yet, this timely and topical issue hasremained largely unaddressed experimentally because of great difficulties of measuring flows inplasmas. Recently, the team of scientists from all over the world developed innovative configurationof probes yielding the flow velocity locally. This timely and topical diagnostics has beensuccessfully applied on many tokamaks ranging from the huge JET through medium TEXTOR to a smallCASTOR due to the excellent collaboration and coordination between research teams. Results causedlarge interest of fusion community born out by numerous invited talks delivered at the majorinternational meetings.

Free-boundary plasma equilibria with toroidal plasma flows

Magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium schemes with toroidal plasma flows and scrape-off layer are developed for the'divertor-type'and'limiter-type'free boundaries in the tokamak cylindrical coordinate.With a toroidal plasma flow,the flux functions are considerably different under the isentropic and isothermal assumptions.The effects of the toroidal flow on the magnetic axis shift are investigated.In a high beta plasma,the magnetic shifts due to the toroidal flow are almost the same for both the isentropic and isothermal cases and are about 0.04a_(0)(a_(0)is the minor radius)for M_(0)=0.2(the toroidal Alfvén Mach number on the magnetic axis).In addition,the X-point is slightly shifted upward by 0.0125a_(0).But the magnetic axis and the X-point shift due to the toroidal flow may be neglected because M_(0) is usually less than 0.05 in a real tokamak.The effects of the toroidal flow on the plasma parameters are also investigated.The high toroidal flow shifts the plasma outward due to the centrifugal effect.Temperature profiles are noticeable different because the plasma temperature is a flux function in the isothermal case.

An Experimental Research to Study the Microwaves transmission Characteristics of Ablating Material in Arc-Heated Plasma Flow

in this paper, an experimental research the effect of ablating material on the reflection and the transmission of microwaves in arc-heated plasma flow is presented by using the C band microwave measuring system. The results show that the ablating material with accidented surface and its high temperature have remarkably affected the reflection and the transmission of microwaves. The experiment proves that the system has outstanding precision and reliability.

Effects of Low Chloride versus High Chloride Infusion on Glomerular Filtration Rate and Renal Plasma Flow in Healthy Volunteers—A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Study

Background: Previous studies have shown that chloride liberal fluids may be associated with worse renal outcomes. Deterioration of kidney function during hyperchloremia/chloride overload is believed to be induced by disturbances in renal perfusion, but exact mechanisms of chloride nephrotoxicity are unclear. The purpose of this randomized, crossover study was to investigate the effect of chloride loading on renal plasma flow (RPF), filtration fraction (FF) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in order to elucidate potential nephrotoxic mechanisms of chloride infusion. Methods: Fifteen healthy males were investigated twice after treatment with 2L isotonic saline and plasma-lyte with a wash-out period of at least 10 days. Within 15 mins after completion of infusion, the kidney parameters (RPF, FF and GFR) were estimated by Technetium-99m diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (99-mTc-DTPA) renography. Results: 99-mTc-DTPA renography showed reduction in both mean GFR (114 ± 13 ml/min vs.119 ± 12 ml/min, p = 0.04) and RPF (977 ± 272 ml/min vs. 1066 ± 197 ml/min, p = 0.19) and increasing FF (12% ± 2% vs. 11% ± 2%, p = 0.19) after 0.9% saline comparing to Plasmalyte, but only GFR reduction was statistically significant. Reduction in GFR and RPF and increasing in FF after 0.9% saline was observed in 10 subjects while in 5 others the reverse trend was shown. There were no statistically significant differences between mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) before and after each infusion except baseline diastolic BP. Weight changes (Δ weight) were similar after each infusion. Conclusions: We have demonstrated that high chloride infusion can affect kidney function in healthy subjects and seems to lead to impairment in both RPF and GFR.

Acute Effects of Tolvaptan on Renal Hemodynamics in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease —A Randomized, Cross-Over, Double Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Renal Plasma Flow and Glomerular Filtration Rate

Background: Previous studies have shown that reduced renal plasma flow (RPF) may play a role in progression of renal disease in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Tolvaptan, a vasopressin 2 antagonist, reduces growth of total kidney volume and slows the decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in ADPKD. The purpose of this randomized, cross-over, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to investigate if acute tolvaptan treatment increases RPF in ADPKD patients. Methods: Eighteen ADPKD patients (chronic kidney disease stages I-III) were investigated twice (min. 10 days apart) after acute treatment with either tolvaptan 60 mg or placebo. Two hours after treatment RPF and GFR were estimated by Technetium-99m diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (99-mTc-DTPA) renography. During the examination day, central and brachial blood pressures (BP) were measured using Mobil-O-Graph? PWA. We also measured plasma concentrations of vasopressin (p-AVP), renin (PRC), angiotensin II (p-AngII) and aldosterone (p-Aldo), urine excretion of aquaporin 2 (u-AQP2), urine output (OU), urine osmolality (u-Osm) and fractional excretion of sodium (FENa). Results: 99-mTc-DTPA renography showed a similar RPF (673 ± 262 ml/min after tolvaptan vs. 650 ± 209 ml/min after placebo, p = 0.571) and GFR (78 ± 26 ml/min after tolvaptan vs. 79 ± 21 ml/min after placebo p = 0.774) after tolvaptan and placebo treatment. P-AVP and UO increased and u-Osm decreased after tolvaptan and remained unchanged during placebo. Systolic BP tended to decrease during renography during tolvaptan. Very small or insignificant changes were seen in PRC, p-AngII and p-Aldo. Conclusions: Acute tolvaptan treatment did not change renal hemodynamics in ADPKD.

Nonequilibrium modeling study on plasma flow features in a low-power nitrogen/hydrogen arcjet thruster

Gasdynamic flow features in an electrothermal arcjet thruster with a mixture of 1：2 nitrogen/hydrogen as the working gas have been studied by a two-temperature numerical simulation.Seven species and 17 kinetic processes are included in the chemical kinetic model used to represent dissociation, ionization, and the corresponding recombination reactions in this nitrogen/hydrogen mixture system. Based on the gas flow characteristics inside the arcjet nozzle,a new method is introduced to define the edge of the cold boundary layer, which is more convenient to analyze the evolution and development of plasma flow in an arcjet thruster. The results show that the arcjet thruster performance is determined largely by the exchange of energy and momentum between the low-density, high-temperature arc region and the high-density, coolflow region near the nozzle wall. A significant thermal nonequilibrium is found in the cold boundary layer in the expansion portion of the nozzle. The important chemical kinetic processes determining the distribution of hydrogen and nitrogen species in different flow regions are presented. It has been shown that the reaction rate of hydrogen species ionization impacted by electrons is much higher than that of nitrogen species ionization in the center of the constrictor of the arcjet thruster. This indicates that hydrogen species is very important in the conversion of applied electric energy into thermal energy in the constrictor region of the arcjet thruster.

Dynamics of oscillatory plasma flows prior to the H-mode in the HL-2A tokamak

This paper discusses edge oscillatory plasma flows, geodesic acoustic mode （GAM） and limit cycle oscillations （LCOs）, which have been measured by Doppler reflectometry prior to the high confinement mode （H-mode） in the HL-2A tokamak. The complex relations between the flows and background turbulence have been analyzed. It was observed that the GAM and LCO coexist, and these two flows and turbulence have strong nonlinear interactions during the intermediate confinement phase （I-phase）. Dynamics of the shear flows and turbulence prior to the H-mode shows that the oscillatory flows quench the turbulence along with the increase of the mean E x B flow at the early stage of the I-phase, then the oscillatory flows are damped and the further increased mean flow takes over the role in turbulence suppression. The reduced turbulent transport results in the formation of a steep edge transport barrier. It suggests that the oscillatory flows can initiate the L-H transition through providing a positive feedback for the increase of the mean E × B flow strength.

Flow control performance evaluation of a tri-electrode sliding discharge plasma actuator

Tri-electrode sliding discharge(TED)plasma actuators are formed by adding a direct current(DC)exposed electrode to conventional dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)plasma actuators.There are three TED modes depending on the polarity and amplitude of the DC supply:DBD discharge,extended discharge and sliding discharge.This paper evaluates the electrical,aerodynamic and mechanical characteristics of a TED plasma actuator based on energy analysis,particle image velocimetry experiments and calculations using the Navier-Stokes equation.The flow control performances of different discharge modes are quantitatively analyzed based on characteristic parameters.The results show that flow control performance in both extended discharge and sliding discharge is more significant than that of DBD,mainly because of the significantly higher(up to 141%)body force of TED compared with DBD.However,conductivity loss is the primary power loss caused by the DC polarity for TED discharge.Therefore,power consumption can be reduced by optimizing the dielectric material and thickness,thus improving the flow control performance of plasma actuators.

Integrated design and performance optimization of three-electrode sliding discharge plasma power supply

The three-electrode sliding dielectric barrier discharge(TES-DBD) plasma actuator significantly enhances the ionization rate and momentum exchange between charged particles and neutral particles by incorporating a parallel DC electrode into the standard DBD design. This design improves the body force and induced jet velocity while allowing flexible control of the induced jet angle, overcoming the limitations of discharge extension and uncontrollable direction in traditional DBD plasma actuators. An integrated plasma power supply has been designed specifically for TES-DBD plasma actuators, streamlining the power supply management. The methodology involves designing the circuit topology for the TES-DBD power supply, followed by simulating and validating its operating principles using Multisim software. The operational performance of the power supply is evaluated through a comprehensive analysis of its electrical,thermal, and aerodynamic properties specific to TES-DBD plasma actuation.

Spatiotemporal evolution laws of sector-shaped dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuator

Dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)plasma actuators are widely used in active flow control due to their simple design and rapid responsiveness.However,they need more effectiveness and discharge extension.To overcome these limitations,a sector-shaped dielectric barrier discharge(SS-DBD)plasma actuator with an adjustable jet angle was developed to enhance flow control effectiveness.The flow field dynamics induced by the SS-DBD plasma actuator were quantitatively analyzed using particle image velocimetry(PIV).Experimental investigations showed that precise adjustments to the actuation voltage can modulate the maximum velocity of the induced jet.Furthermore,a quasi-linear relationship between the sector-shaped angles of the SS-DBD and the deflected jet angles was established,indicating that changes in the sector-shaped angles directly influence the direction of the deflected jet.This correlation enables precise control over jet angles,significantly enhancing flow control by adjusting the SS-DBD-PA's sector-shaped angle.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON INDUCED FLOW VELOCITY OF PLASMA AERODYNAMIC ACTUATION

Plasma flow control is an active flow control technology that based on the plasma aerodynamic actuation. It can be used to enhance the aerodynamic characteristics of aircraft and propulsion systems. To study the phenomena occurring in plasma aerodynamic actuation and the mechanism of plasma flow control, the induced flow velocity of the plasma aerodynamic actuator is experimentally investigated under a variety of parameter conditions. The results indicate that plasma aerodynamic actuation accelerates the near surface air at velocities of a few meters per second, and there is an angle about 5° between the mainstream and the actuator wall and a spiral vortex is formed when the induced flow is moving along the wall. Besides, with the fixed frequency, the induced flow velocity increases linearly with the applied voltage, but it is insensitive to the frequency when the applied voltage is fixed. And the configuration is an effective factor for the performance of the plasma aerodynamic actuator.

Investigation of Endwall Flow Behavior with Plasma Flow Control on a Highly Loaded Compressor Cascade

To discover the flow behavior in the endwall region and mechanism of plasma flow control on a highly loaded compressor cascade, distributions of static pressure coefficient, total pressure loss coefficient and streamline pat- tern were investigated. Results show that cross flow from the pressure surface to neighboring suction surface ex- ists under pitch-wise pressure gradient. The deflected endwall boundary layer flow interacts with the incoming flow, and then both of them leave off the endwall in tile form of a span-wise vortex. Effect of angle of attack on static pressure is greater than that of free stream velocity. The distinct variations of total pressure loss with end- wall actuations are mainly located within the outer verge of a triangular area with high total pressure loss. Effect of pitch-vAse actuation on separated flows is much better than that of stream-wise actuation, and both enhance with the increase of angle of attack and actuation strength. An efficient method for plasma flow control in the endwall region is the increase of actuation strength, such as adjusting discharge voltage or changing plasma power supply.

Two-stage acceleration of interstellar ions driven by high-energy lepton plasma flows

We present the particle-in-cell(PIC) simulation results of the interaction of a high-energy lepton plasma flow with background electron-proton plasma and focus on the acceleration processes of the protons. It is found that the acceleration follows a two-stage process. In the first stage, protons are significantly accelerated transversely(perpendicular to the lepton flow) by the turbulent magnetic field "islands" generated via the strong Weibel-type instabilities. The accelerated protons shows a perfect inverse-power energy spectrum. As the interaction continues, a shockwave structure forms and the protons in front of the shockwave are reflected at twice of the shock speed, resulting in a quasi-monoenergetic peak located near 200 Me V under the simulation parameters. The presented scenario of ion acceleration may be relevant to cosmic-ray generation in some astrophysical environments.

Generalization of Solovev's approach to finding equilibrium solutions for axisymmetric plasmas with flow

Solovev's approach of finding equilibrium solutions was found to be extremely useful for generating a library of linear-superposable equilibria for the purpose of shaping studies.This set of solutions was subsequently expanded to include the vacuum solutions of Zheng,Wootton and Solano,resulting in a set of functions{SOLOVEV_ZWS}that were usually used for all toroidally symmetric plasmas,commonly recognized as being able to accommodate any desired plasma shapes(complete-shaping capability).The possibility of extending the Solovev approach to toroidal equilibria with a general plasma flow is examined theoretically.We found that the only meaningful extension is to plasmas with a pure toroidal rotation and with a constant Mach number.We also show that the simplification ansatz made to the current profiles,which was the basis of the Solovev approach,should be applied more systematically to include an internal boundary condition at the magnetic axis;resulting in a modified and more useful set{SOLOVEV_ZWSm}.Explicit expressions of functions in this set are given for equilibria with a quasi-constant current density profile,with a toroidal flow at a constant Mach number and with specific heat capacity 1.The properties of{SOLOVEV_ZWSm}are studied analytically.Numerical examples of achievable equilibria are demonstrated.Although the shaping capability of the set{SOLOVE_ZWSm}is quite extensive,it nevertheless still does not have complete shaping capability,particularly for plasmas with negative curvature points on the plasma boundary such as the doublets or indented bean shaped tokamaks.

Clinical Application of Monitoring Glomerular Filtration Rate and Effective Renal Plasma Flow

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) were measured by SPECT in 172 patients (192 times) with renal impairment due to various diseases and also in 18 normal controls. The results suggest that GFR and ERPF are sensitive and efficient renal function indicators in monitoring the change of the disease and assessing therapeutic effect. However, they should be checked carefully because of many factors affect the resutls of the measurement.

Experimental and numerical investigation of a self-supplementing dual-cavity plasma synthetic jet actuator

The primary issue regarding the plasma synthetic jet actuator(PSJA)is its performance attenuation at high frequencies.To solve this issue,a self-supplementing,dual-cavity,plasma synthetic jet actuator(SD-PSJA)is designed,and the static properties of the SD-PSJA are investigated through experiments and numerical simulations.The pressure measurement shows that the SD-PSJA has two saturation frequencies(1200 Hz and 2100 Hz),and the experimental results show that both the saturation frequencies decrease as the volume of the bottom cavity of the SD-PSJA increases.As the size of the supplement hole increases,the first saturation frequency increases continuously,while the second saturation frequency shows a trend of first decreasing and then increasing.Numerical simulations show that the working process of the SD-PSJA is similar to that of the PSJA,but the volume of the cavity in the SD-PSJA is smaller than that of the PSJA;the SD-PSJA can supplement air to the top cavity through two holes,thus reducing the refresh time and effectively improving the jet intensity of the actuator at high frequencies.

Investigation on Plasma Jet Flow Phenomena During DC Air Arc Motion in Bridge-Type Contacts

Arc plasma jet flow in the air was investigated under a bridge-type contacts in a DC 270 V resistive circuit. We characterized the arc plasma jet flow appearance at different currents by using high-speed photography, and two polished contacts were used to search for the relationship between roughness and plasma jet flow. Then, to make the nature of arc plasma jet flow phenomena clear, a simplified model based on magnetohydrodynamic （MHD） theory was established and calculated. The simulated DC arc plasma was presented with the temperature distribution and the current density distribution. Furthermore, the calculated arc flow velocity field showed that the circular vortex was an embodiment of the arc plasma jet flow progress. The combined action of volume force and contact surface was the main reason of the arc jet flow.